VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR 2009-Pat Benjamin

Pat began volunteering at JFK by accident.  “My cousin was recently widowed and wanted something to do with her life,” relayed Pat.  “On the way home from lunch one afternoon, she asked to stop by JFK so she could fill out an application to be a volunteer.  I thought this sounded like a good plan for her, so I agreed…that was 12 years ago in 1997.” 

When asked what she enjoys about being a JFK volunteer, with joy in her voice Pat avowed, “I get to interact with the public and meet new people all the time.  If I see someone with a problem, I can go put my arm around them and offer to listen.” Looking up in reflection Pat acknowledged, “I really am a people person and I care about JFK, otherwise I would not be here.”

Pat grew up in La Jolla - a “beach bum”, as she calls herself. She attended the Mercy College of Nursing three-year program, ran by the Catholic Sisters, living on campus the entire time.  Besides the one week of vacation per year, Pat remembers the sisters asking for volunteers to “entertain” Marines and Navy servicemen when they were docked. “I felt it was my duty,” Pat recalls with a twinkle in her eye, “so I always ran down the stairs first.” 

Although she may have “retired” from her nursing career, we are fortunate that Pat has not retired her spunk and enthusiasm.  She serves as “team leader” for the front desk volunteer position and works two shifts per week.  This year Pat also took on the role of Junior Volunteer Coordinator which involves “giving some grandmotherly counseling every now and then.”  Pat also serves as Membership chairman and spends an average of 40-50 hours per month involved in volunteer duties.  Pat is the immediate Past President of the JFK Auxiliary and has continued her involvement even after her leadership term was completed. 

Pat and her husband, Ben, will have been married 55 years in August.  When asked how her husband felt about the volunteering she does for JFK, Pat beamed, “I think he is proud of me.”  Between her volunteer duties, Pat manages to play golf and bridge twice a week, as well as spend time with her 3 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.  She takes time off every summer to travel. When asked where she visits, Pat begins rattling off “all North Africa, South America, most of the Mediterranean, all the Scandinavian countries and Russia, Panama Canal, 20 days in Croatia, Turkey and the islands of Greece…..”